to be a fairy princess

a spring dream.

Image of Emma Watson courtesy of Style Frizz

raindrops

I have been blessed with a most joyous rainy weekend. All day Saturday, at my parents' house, the rain fell. I love rain anywhere, but sometimes I think it might be best there. Sometimes, when rain begins to fall, the pitter-patter on the leaves is so soft and crescendos so slowly that it could just as easily be a strong wind blowing through the branches of the trees of the surrounding woods. We can't know if it's raining or not unless we look at the surface of the lake and see the patterns of the raindrops.


On Easter Sunday, my parents and my grandmothers and I played cards in a quaint little sunroom all afternoon as the rain came down. Springtime rain makes me feel so vital. And fortunately, it followed me back to school yesterday. This photo is of my deck this morning, with little petals in the little puddles. The best song to go along with a bouncy, lively, wet spring day (for me, anyway) is James Taylor's "Up Er Mei." (Unfortunately, I'm having trouble finding anything other than the Amazon clip to listen to on the web. But it's on his album called "Hourglass," for what it's worth.)


See more rain-love here and read a cute little poem about rain by Shel Silverstein, after the jump.

Photo by Shanti Knight

Rain

by Shel Silverstein

I opened my eyes

And looked up at the rain,

And it dripped in my head

And flowed into my brain,

And all that I hear as I lie in my bed

Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,

I walk very slow,

I can't do a handstand--

I might overflow,

So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--

I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.

bright

celebrating springtime

photo by John Wright courtesy of My Modern Metropolis

happy friday!

Photo by Shanti Knight


Have a fantastic weekend! Here are some of the cooler things I found on the internet this week...

Totes wish I could be in London on the 29th! If I were, I'd be doing this.

Ah, Savannah! (via Jamie Beck)

Janis Joplin's take on music.

The new J. Crew blog.

Symbolic mid-day revitalization.

I saw Lil Wayne live this week. Here's the story of how an Indiana college town got on his tour.


For art people.


Being disagreeable.


Everybody loves a mud puddle.

mulberry spring/summer 2011

So sorry, my readers, for the weeklong hiatus. I got all caught up in school work and simply didn't have time to blog! What a shame. As my friend Johnny V said to me over the weekend, "I'm up to my ankles in it, but I dove in headfirst."


Water under the bridge. It's 65º outside, and things are getting done.


Doesn't this Mulberry campaign just feel like springtime? That sigh at the beginning... ahhh.

Spring Summer 2011 - The Campaign from Mulberry on Vimeo.

ahhh... spring!

Deep breath— I am so ready for this. Crazy to think that this is my last spring of college. But I feel so rejuvenated. I spent most of my spring break in a floaty strapless sun dress, letting the sun bake my shoulders. Yesterday, my drive through Indiana was inspirational, to say the least. At one point, I found myself on a winding road. On my left: a sweeping field, a hillside dotted with brown and black cows, and even little calfs. On my right: a line of innumerable white sycamores, their bark standing boldly in the setting sunlight, the repetition of the white branches mesmerizing. And in my rearview mirror: the sun, perfectly centered over the road, a massive globe in a deep, rich, radiating pink-orange. It was so perfect, it would have been a waste to try to take a picture.

Just for kicks, though, here are some images I shot last spring and summer.

photos by Shanti Knight

And a couple of perfect quotes:

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."

-Albert Einstein

"Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty, if only we have the eyes to see them."

-John Ruskin

vegetables

This past weekend, I watched The Kids Are All Right. Have you seen it? If you haven't, you simply must. It's just outstanding. (& nominated in four categories for the Oscars next week, including Best Picture!)

Photo of Annette Bening and Julianne Moore courtesy of Chino Kino

In this movie, Mark Ruffalo's character is an organic farmer. And everybody eats so many vegetables! It reminded me of a New York Times article ("Told to Eat Its Vegetables, America Orders Fries") from last September about how most Americans don't eat nearly enough vegetables. Then I became very very aware of how my eating habits have been slipping down a slippery slope. I'm normally a pretty clean eater, but this winter I have indeed eaten pizza, french fries, meat (?!), cake, milk and cheese. And on Friday night, I even allowed my friend Alen to buy me some white-chocolate frozen yogurt.

There. I've said it.

So, with all of that thrown into harsh perspective when I watched Julianne Moore & Co. eat vegetable after fresh vegetable in sunny California, I decided in no uncertain terms that the time had come for a shift. Saturday afternoon, I went to the grocery store and I bought so many vegetables. And I steamed them— kale, broccoli, garlic— and I ate them. And I was well.

It didn't stop there. Sunday afternoon I conjured up this treat:

Photo by Shanti Knight

It was some kind of pretty little orange-and-yellow-skinned tomato. I sliced it, topped it with dried sage (home-grown and home-dried by my organic gardener friend Steve from home) and then sprinkled the whole mess with Celtic sea salt. It was just delightful!

So while it's not The Master Cleanse, it's a jumpstart. Combine that with the running and Pilates I did over the weekend and my body is feeling more alive than it has in a while.

I love springtime! (Even if it is still February.)